If you’re a marketer, and you’re not familiar with EdgeRank, you should be. This is the algorithm Facebook uses to determine which content to show your fans. But that’s just the tip of the sword.

Raidious works with lots of enterprise-level global and national brands, managing social media for hundreds of thousands of fans and hundreds of thousands of interactions every month. Raidious has been in the social media optimization game for awhile now. Over the last year, we have been doing more homework on EdgeRank to help our existing clients do things like triple their Facebook fan base, add 20,000 fans in a 48 hour period, and drive 60% increases in online sales worth over a million and a half dollars – all attributable directly to social media (and that was just one client). We are pretty excited about what we have learned, and thought it would be valuable information to share with other marketers, who may be wondering why their numbers on Facebook have gone down recently, or why they are not seeing the growth they want. The answer is EdgeRank, Facebook’s content assassin. That’s right:

Facebook is trying to assassinate your content.

Only you can protect it – but you must learn the exquisite art of EdgeRank, grasshopper.

Learn how to become an EdgeRank Ninja, with Raidious and Awareness Networks, at our upcoming Webinar. If the word “algorithm” scares you, don’t worry. This will not be a deep dive into Calculus 401. I’ll give an easy to understand overview of the algorithm, with as little heavy math as possible (although there will be a little bit). I can also guarantee the appearance of at least one cute picture of a kitten, and Animal from the Muppets. Also, lots of ninja pictures, and a behind the scenes look at the end result of ongoing EdgeRank optimization, and some guidance on how you, too, can start leveraging EdgeRank for your brand.

I would love to see you there, and please bring a friend. It will be fun, and you can impress your boss afterwards with your crazy EdgeRank ninja skills. Hiii-YA!

Related articles

• Understanding How Algorithms Impact Content (raidious.com)
• EdgeRank and Graph Rank Defined (insidefacebook.com)
• The End of the Echo Chamber (slate.com)

Email marketing is changing fast.

At a jam-packed webinar last week, Raidious partnered with our friends at Delivra to shed some light on some of the top email marketing trends we have been seeing with our clients. If you were not able to attend the webinar, no worries – we recorded it so you can watch it at your leisure. Just click on the image below to see the webinar, or grab the slides!

Here are some of the trends we covered:

• Multiplatform
• Outside Outlook
• Email Anywhere
• Mobile Expansion
• Versioned Design
• Subject Line Trends
• Audience First
• Hub & Spoke Infrastructure
• Measuring Content
• Measuring Engagement
• Measuring Conversion
• Measuring Amplification
• Real Time Relevancy
• Multiplatform Correlations
• Email Content Strategy

For more detail on these email trends (or just to relive the magic), here is the full recording:

Lots of great questions from the audience are captured in the webinar, but not on the slide deck.

We had a fantastic time with all of the folks from Delivra, and got to see their awesome new office space. Megan Glover from Delivra and PJ Gindling from Raidious did a ton of work to get this prepared. Thanks to you both!

Also, thanks to Neil Berman, CEO Delivra, who was awesome to work with. Most importantly, thanks to everyone who attended or signed up! If you have more questions about Email Marketing or Content Strategy, please feel free to reach out and we’ll be happy to help!

Related articles

• Spotlight: Email Marketing with Delivra (marketingtechblog.com)
• Welcome Email Marketing Blog Sponsor Delivra! (marketingtechblog.com)
• Same Email Marketing Pains…10 Years Later. (marketingtechblog.com)
• Use Mobile to Acquire Email Subscribers (marketingtechblog.com)

Let’s face it… you are likely over capacity.

The online landscape has changed and so has the way we all do business today. If you are a marketer, you’re probably getting requests from the executive level DEMANDING that you get your multi-channel strategy together ASAP. To them, this is a reasonable request. But to you, the already stretched thin marketing director with a 3-4 person team, this request has just put a major kink in the marketing strategy you finalized a month ago! How do you scale your team to meet the demand?

The problem with the request is the misunderstanding of what it takes to run a multi-channel campaign. In the eyes of the “boss” it is as simple as setting up a few tools, slapping a logo on it, and letting the masses fill your pages with comments about how they love your brand….but you as a marketer know better. Oh, and by the way, there is no more budget. It’s ok though, because Facebook and Twitter are free… right?

If only it were that simple.

The questions going through your head are most likely

• Who is going to do all of this work?
• When we are at capacity, how will we scale?
• Where am I going to get all of this content?
• When will we find time to tackle this?
• What will our strategy look like?
• What will we write about?

If you are in this spot and feeling completely overwhelmed by this monstrous stack of tasks that have unknowingly been placed on your desk, you are not alone. But don’t fret, there are options. This scenario is the exact reason Raidious exists. In short, we can do all of this work for you.

We are structured and staffed to alleviate the capacity problem for your brand. Today there are many companies out there that can help you identify your strategy but few who will actually do the work for you. It sounds great in theory but it doesn’t solve the problem. You need doers. You need humans. We all know that the only resource for content is PEOPLE. But not just any people. You need professionals who understand how to write content. But it doesn’t stop there. You need people who can write content for the web, in the voice of your brand, in real time, in a way that marries your brand to your consumer, to the world. These people are not interns, junior level marketers, or friends of a friend who is good at Facebook.

It’s not rocket science. It is the simple truth. Employ the right people or partners to just “do the work” and you will look like a rock star to that executive team by growing your audience and bottom line. No sweat, no worries, just proper management…it is just that simple.

There seems to be a common misconception when it comes to the subject of analytics. Many marketers see this as “the boring stuff”. Not nearly as fun or sexy as making content and managing engagement initiatives. Unfortunately this kind of thinking can allow you to lose your audience. It’s a science experiment, folks. You have to experiment and measure results or you’ll never understand how your content is affecting your audience.

I understand that I’m one of  few individuals that actually enjoy spending the majority of my day elbow-deep in charts and graphs and spreadsheets – and as hard as it is for me to accept this, not everybody has their monthly bounce rate metric memorized. For some, analytics reports are confusing and many don’t understand how they connect to business objectives. These folks almost seem to dread analytics discussions (“Is this meeting over yet so I can get back to what I was doing?”). However, it never fails to save the conversation when I explain to them that this data is simply their audience telling them exactly what they think.

Most companies would kill to be able to ask every single customer and potential customer what they want. Analytics is simply a window into that world. Looking at audience data month over month, year over year can paint a rich, detailed picture of what content connects with an audience, when they are most receptive to that content, how much content they want from different sources, and even how long they want to spend reading it. It’s all there.

All web analytics is the study of the effectiveness of content. Let me repeat that a different way:

Every online measurement is a measurement of how effective your content is – not how effective your platform is.

Without content there is no reason to engage, and thus no audience to analyze. However – content without analysis is like driving blind. Sure, you’re moving forward, but wouldn’t it be nice to know where you’re going, and how to get there? And if anyone else is coming along?

Spending just a little time each month with your analytics can allow you to fully grasp the effect of your content on your audience, and to be able to hear what your audience is telling you through their browsers. Despite all the technical jargon, it’s not any more complicated than that. Take a look. Who knows, maybe you’ll get as excited about declining bounce rates as much as I do!

Raidious can help with analytics for social media, email, websites, and more – contact us today and we’ll tell you exactly what your audience wants you to know.

Related articles

• 5 Vanity Metrics to Stop Measuring (And Better Alternatives) (hubspot.com)
• Measuring The Effectiveness Of Content Marketing and SEO (mediapost.com)
• 5 Things You NEED to Know About Your Website Visitors (bloggingtips.com)
• Why Your Audience Is More Important Than SEO (preciseinternetmarketing.com)

In the world of social media it is all too common that people forget the importance of minding their manners. By cutting out the face-to-face interaction it’s incredibly easy to respond less earnestly to people or further- to just ignore them all together.  While it is necessary to make thoughtful and timely responses to your customers, you have to consider the size of your online following.  Your online social circle may extend to thousands or even millions of people.  While it is ideal to cater to each and every request, you need to find an efficient way to prioritize your responses so that they can remain thorough and engaging.

There is no doubt that ignoring customers is a recipe for disaster in terms of brand management for you and your company.  To provide proper customer service in a busy digital media landscape it is key to ensure people know you’re responding to their concerns.  It is crucial to respond to any and all questions, even if the answer is as simple as “Let us research your problem and get back to you.”

Each and every customer matters to your brand’s well being.  If a customer is loyal enough to engage with your social media platforms, he or she is doing you a favor by providing feedback that will help your business grow in a positive direction.  Quickly respond to customer requests so that they continue to provide you with direction.  Remember: if a customer came into your office with a question or complaint you wouldn’t just ignore them!

Obviously, there is a scalability issue here, along with influence analysis. While every legitimate question, or issue deserves a response it may not be possible to answer them quickly. Start by analyzing influence. If the customer in question has all of 12 Twitter followers, then they are obviously going to drop on the priority to list to someone with 1 million followers.

The initial response is what most consumers are looking for, so give them what they want and solve their problems when possible.

Customer relationship management is often laser-focused on email and social media. reducing customers’ needs, hopes, and pain points to data points and milestones. These components are obviously crucial, but it’s to easy to overlook one of the most basic means of communication available to us: the telephone. Truly effective CRM utilizes the power of the human voice in direct, real-time communication.

Case in point: my car has been in the shop for over a week now. The nature of the issue required an insurance adjustor to look at the car, and special ordering some parts–each of which contributed to a longer time frame for repair.

Rather than renting a car, the dealership gave me a brand new loaner car to drive in the interim. While this alone would’ve been enough to satisfy me, it’s been the communication that’s made me a customer for the foreseeable future, if not for life.

Every day since they’ve had my car, I have received a phone call around 4:00pm with a complete status update. I have not for one day been left to wonder what’s going on, nor have I had to pester the shop for information. I have been proactively provided with everything I need to know, often before I have had time to think of it.

Of course, I receive regular targeted emails and paper mail offering specials and advising me of new features, sales and events. I also follow two different Twitter feeds related to the brand. These are both helpful and informative, but I know these means of communication originate from the corporate office.

My local dealer knows my name, takes the time to catch up on general life events when I’m in their office, and reminds me through their actions that they value me as an individual. I’m not a target demographic, I’m not an email address with a customizable first name field in a SalesForce database: I’m a person, and I respond to personal attention. And unlike most people, when they say they’ll call they actually mean it and follow up.

The digital realm isn’t the be-all and end-all in CRM. As this anecdote illustrates, humans respond to humans. Your customers, regardless of industry, deserve this type high-end treatment. Even if you are a huge retailer with hundreds of thousands of customers, when a customer service issue arises that person should feel that their patronage is appreciated and their needs are addressed.

So take the time to sit down and talk. Don’t make them wait. Remember to call. Your customers will remember why they became customers in the first place.

Raidious is pleased to welcome our newest full-time employee, Kaitlin Coons. Kaitlin joined the team this week as Social Media Coordinator.

A native of Chesterton, Indiana on the astoundingly beautiful Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Kaitlin comes to us as a recent graduate of Indiana University with a triple major in Psychology, Communications and Telecommunications.

Most recently Kaitlin managed Facebook and Twitter social media activity as an intern for the Grossbauer Group. She has done extensive volunteer work for the Middleway House Disabled Veterans Center, and continues to self-educate in intellectual property law.

Kaitlin is a smart, creative, energetic person and a talented writer. She’s also a gadget geek who loves her iPhone and her MacBook, so she’s fitting in very well.

We’re privileged and thrilled to have her on the team.

As brands grow and mature, they take on a life and personality all their own. Now that companies are expected to actively participate in social media, this personality–their brand voice–can be difficult to establish, leading some to balk at this newfound responsibility.

This difficult transition is akin to a child approaching their teen years. My girlfriend’s ten-year-old son–who, to protect his anonymity, we’ll call Tron (he’ll think that’s cool)–is at the age where he is testing the limits of his freedom and exploring his own priorities. In child psychology this period of questioning and challenging authority is referred to as “being a pain the patootie.”

While most of the time Tron is a cheerful, obedient boy, he has his moments of resistance when, rather than unquestioningly following directions, he pushes back. Many of these excuses sounded familiar to me, and I realized that they are often similar if not identical to those offered by companies adjusting to the “everyone is a publisher” reality of social media.

Let’s take a look at some of his more popular challenges. Do you hear yourself or your executive leadership in any of these? If so, it’s time to ask yourself if you are indeed smarter than a fourth-grader.

“I’ll do it during the next commercial.”

This one invariably comes up when it’s time for his nightly shower. Tron is ensconced in a TV show and promises to take a five-minute shower so he doesn’t miss the next exciting development taking place on the Disney Channel. Never mind that the same episode will air approximately 4,327 more times this week, or that we can DVR his favorite shows. He’s busy.

Many companies pay lip service to the importance of social media engagement, but in practice dedicate a minimal amount of time and attention to it. Five minutes out of your day isn’t going to accomplish any goals or solve any business problems whatsoever (or get your stinky ten-year-old clean). Well-planned, well-executed strategies aren’t accomplished in whatever free time you try to fit them.

“That’s not what I meant.”

I find myself channeling my mother when I tell Tron to “engage brain before engaging mouth.” Regardless there are times when his opinion comes flying out before giving any consideration to how it will sound to others. When such insensitivity is brought to his attention, he’ll often say, “That’s not what I meant.”

Regardless of intent, the power of expression lies within how words affect others. It may not be sticks and stones, but as we have seen recently with both accidental (Chrysler) and intentional (Kenneth Cole) missteps, the words we use on social networking sites can indeed hurt. In the case of a brand, the party usually most hurt by our poor choice of words is us. The court of public opinion looks unfavorably upon those who misuse or abuse the social media pulpit. It pays to be acutely aware of the possible connotations and power of your words.

“I don’t feel like talking about it.”

When Tron has a bad day at school–whether or not we’ve received a call or a note home from the teacher–we know it immediately. A usually upbeat, singing, dancing, babbling kid is replaced by a sullen, disinterested slug. No matter what the problem, no matter whose fault it was, we encourage him to tell us about it. Of course at times he is less than forthcoming, saying, “I don’t feel like talking about it.”

The issue here is transparency; it’s easy to share your triumphs with others when you’re happy and excited. When the chips are down and you’re dealing with trouble, the natural response is to clam up. In the case of social media, you must remember that everyone on the web is a publisher. If you don’t talk about what went wrong with your company, others will.

What if they’re wrong? What if they’re misinformed? It’s one thing to issue a press release in an attempt to spin or explain away whatever mistake your company may have made. It’s another thing entirely to get out in front of the issue using your owned media channels and turn a potential tragedy into an opportunity. Believe it or not, your customers and the world at large will respect you and your openness (see also ComcastCares).

“Do I have to?”

Yes.

This week’s tip is for those of you struggling to manage your brand’s social media efforts on a daily basis, and finding that the work is time consuming, and monotonous. The solution is simple, “think campaign.”

In order to see the true benefits from managing your brand’s social media pages is treat it like any other marketing or public relations campaign. Start with research and planning. Learn where your targeted publics are located, and how they are using social media. Use that knowledge to create your plan.

Next, implement your strategy and measure along the way. Follow the strategy you set forth, but don’t be afraid to change directions when needed. Stick to your brand’s voice, but don’t be afraid to change your content strategy if you’re not getting the engagement or reach you’re looking for.

Once you’re into a solid strategy you’ll find that scheduling content in advance becomes easier, and if you’re campaign is done well, you’ll begin engaging with customers in an organized fashion that’s never been possible in the past.

If you’re current social media strategy is to turn on your computer and do a few posts each day, then it’s time to start focusing on developing a plan that looks out more well into your future rather than the next 24 hours.

REVIEW:

1. Research
2. Develop A Plan
3. Implement Your Strategy
4. Stick to Your Brand’s Voice
5. Don’t Be Afraid to Change
6. Measure

It’s now been one month since my sojourn to Austin for South by Southwest Interactive. As I’ve decompressed and looked back on the experience, the importance of content for brands has become even more apparent. As I mentioned before, the most popular panels at SXSWi were all about content. Creating content for brands, journalism for brands, and utilizing online channels to publish and promote that content.

Everywhere I turned at SXSWi I saw evidence of this. Many teams had been deployed for various blogs and sites, the Austin Convention center was constantly crawling with Canon 5Ds, Flip Cameras, iPhones, and other assorted camera gear.

What some people saw as production crews, I saw as modern ENG (electronic news gathering) teams. Raidious is a content company. Owned media is our center, and quality content creation is a key element of that. Many times we deploy ENG teams to gather stories or elements of a content plan.

Wikipedia has a very broad definitely of ENG, but the core is as follows:

“It can mean anything from a lone reporter taking a single camcorder out to get a story, to an entire television crew taking a satellite truck on location to do a live report for a newscast.”

I was most excited to check out NPR’s team at Stubb’s BBQ during SXSW music. The coverage they were providing of the line up on DATE was incredible. Their team featured an entire live production crew, mutliple cameras, live HD switching, social media monitoring and promotion, and on air talent – all being broadcast and interacted with LIVE online.

Raidious has experienced a lot of success in deploying ENG teams for our clients – we’ve produced huge batches of video content to activate trade shows online, and utilitized mobile technology such as iPad to report back on events as they unfold. This can create an incredible synergy of content. This is one of they many ways we help brands shine online.